Most everyone who gets married and then has immediate second thoughts wants to know if they can get an annulment in North Carolina. Usually the answer is no…. it is not a fix for a bad marriage decision.
An annulment is very different from a divorce. A North Carolina divorce simply terminates the marital relationship. An annulment on the other hand, is a judicial declaration that the marriage was void… in essence, that there was no marriage at all.
What are the grounds in North Carolina? This article explores that question.
The grounds for an annulment are
- Bigamy. A bigamous marriage is a marriage between persons either of whom has a spouse living at the time of such marriage.
- Marriage within a prohibited degree of kinship that is set out in the statute.
- Underage party or parties.
- Impotency.
- False representation of pregnancy.
- Want of will or understanding – lack of mental capacity.
- Fraud.
- Ratification of a nonbigamous marriage.
- In a nonbigamous marriage, death of a party after cohabitation and birth of issue.
- Estoppel.
- Lack of standing.